Dandelion - Paardebloem -Taraxacum officinale
Dandelion - Taraxacum officinale - Paardebloem
In the spring, the dandelion shines like a thousand stars on the green fields on the green grassy ground.
The first visitors look forward to diving in between the bright yellow petals that suck the pollen from the flowers. One of the first good flowers for the bees to survive.
It is important to leave this plant for the bees that are threatened with extinction. Many people still see the dandelion as a weed to dig up and eliminate from their garden.
What many people do not realize is that the dandelion with its deep roots also helps other plants.
The dandelions also help us with our health! The dandelion contains more antioxidants and vitamins than most vegetables in your garden. Dandelion vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins A, C and K and contain various minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium. The plant therefore fits perfectly in a spring detox.
All parts of the plant can be used. The flowers together with apple form a beautiful compote. Eating dandelion leaves in a salad or using them as spinach in Turkish Borek, or drinking dandelion root "coffee" is all detoxifying our liver and promoting healthy bacteria in our gut.
I often make capers from the closed buds. A bit of a monk job, but very tasty with salads, in pasta or on pizza. I live in the city myself and have an allotment. If I don't have time to go out of town to encounter a whole field of dandelion, I will visit my fellow gardeners and pick up the flower buds there. In Turkey I learned how to use the magazine in Borek.
Dandelion capers:
necessities:
1 small jar with lid (preferably no metal lid).
1 jar filled Dandelion buds that are still round (so not the dense ones in the evening)
Apple vinegar
Possibly pickle herbs.
Pick the still closed round buds of the Dandelions. Fill the jar all the way to the brim. Once at home, place the cups completely in sea salt. This will leave you until the next morning. Then remove the buds from the salt and put them back in the jar. Cover with apple cider vinegar. Leave it for a week or 2 and you have your own dandelion capers. You can create additional flavors in the jar by adding, for example, garlic, peppercorns, mustard seeds and bay leaves.
Turkish Wild Börek
INGREDIENTS
1 medium onion, cut small
450 g dandelion leaf, roughly chopped
2 cups of soy or oat milk
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
¼ cup of nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon of sea salt
1 good pinch of black salt (if you have one)
black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
200 grams of finely ground almonds soaked in water
¼ cup of chopped parsley
1 pound (450 g) package phyllo dough (28 sheets in total)
roasted sesame seeds and nigella seeds to sprinkle on top
Fry the onion with some olive oil over high heat in a large frying pan. After a few minutes, the onions become softer and translucent. Add the Dandelion leaf, ¼ teaspoon of salt and cook for another 5-7 minutes until all the Dandelion wilts and the liquid separates. After 5-7 minutes, drain the excess moisture from the Dandelion and set the pan aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, combine vegetable milk, lemon, nutritional yeast, salt, black salt, black pepper, and olive oil.
When the Dandelion has cooled, crumble the soaked Almond paste through it, add the parsley and pour ¼ cup of that milk mixture. Stir it slightly to absorb it.
Preheat your oven to 200 ° C and place an oven rack in the middle and one in a lower position. Now you are ready to roll up the sheets. Hold them under a damp towel while working and remove 2 sheets of phyllo dough at a time. Hold one sheet on top of the other and face the short side (the 12 inch side). Roughly divide the filling into 14 servings (don't worry, it doesn't have to be exact) and scoop a serving of the mixture onto the phyllo dough and line it up with your fingers in a line. Fold the sheets over the filling and roll them away from you until they are all rolled up. You make a total of 14 roles.
Transfer each roll to a 30 / 35cm round pan greased with a few teaspoons of olive oil. Start on the outside and work your way inward, pushing the rollers together until you've filled the entire pan. Try to keep the hem side down. If you need to fill in smaller gaps, just cut one of the rolls to the desired size.
Once you've put those 14 rolls well in the greased pan, pour the rest of the vegetable milk mixture over the top of all the rolls. Try to cover the entire surface with the mixture. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and nigella seeds and place the börek on top
